For when, during the night, Froneman reached the line, a skirmish took place then and there with the English outposts at Leeuwspruit railway bridge.

At the same time a train arrived from the south, on which the burghers opened such a fierce fire that it was speedily brought to a standstill.

General Froneman at once gave orders to storm the train, but his men did not carry out his orders.
_Had they done so, Lord Kitchener would have fallen into our hands!_ Nobody knew that he was in the train, and it was only later that we heard how, when the train stopped, he got a horse out of one of the waggons, mounted it, and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Shortly afterwards the train moved on again, and our great opportunity was gone! General Froneman succeeded in overpowering the garrison at the railway bridge, and took fifty-eight prisoners.

He then set fire to the bridge, which was a temporary wooden structure, having been built to replace another similar one, which had been blown up with gunpowder.
Three hundred Kaffirs were also made prisoners on this occasion.

They protested that they had no arms, and had only been employed in work upon the railway line.